Zeitoun- Eggers (Book #8)

A must read. The true story of a Syrian man Zeitoun, and his family's hellish ordeal through and after Hurricane Katrina. The book is so powerful without even trying to as we learn about what this heroic man Zeitoun had to endure both through the failed policies of Katrina as well as the 'war on terror'. I enjoyed this book thoroughly and feel sad that I knew so little of what happened in Katrina. Why. WHY doesn't the media actually do its job? These stories should have been front and center.

Persepolis- Satrapi (Book #4)

My jaw dropped open while I read this book and remained so throughout. What a wonderful wonderful book. This is a graphic novel, my first, and quite unintentional as I thought this was actually a novel. This is a non-fiction story of a childhood during the overthrow of the Shah in Iran and the resolution. It is funny, engrossing, and absolutely heartrendingly tragic. She brought humanity to events that often seem removed, and the beauty of her narrative has no choice but to quite literally break your heart.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button- Fitzgerald (Book #3)

This is a short story now a major motion picture that I read via daily lit. I would not normally consider a short story as a "book" but this particular book (TCCBB) was actually sold separately like a book instead of within a volume of short stories, so a book it is, and I shall count it as such. The movie from what I see of its trailers seems very serious and haunting. The book was more light and slightly funny. The book I dont think was ever meant to be taken literally, its basically a story about a man who was born old and died and infant. He lived his life in reverse. Its a story worthy of a few re-reads to get more out of it each time, and with its short length that probably won't be a problem.

The Awakening- Chopin (Book #2)

I read this book when I was 18 and I remember some of the themes sticking with me, when I saw that it was offered for a daily reading on dailylit I subscribed to get daily e-mails with excerpts. Unfortunately (or not) dailylit lets you get the next installment immediately after reading the one e-mailed to you, so I finished the 65 parts of the book in three days.

The wife and mother of this book, a young woman of 28 decides to begin living her life without people telling her what to do. This is a good book about a woman coming to a spiritual awakening. It was written and published in an era of American history where women did not have the rights they do now. They wrote under nom de plume's and their sole role was a mother and wife. This book sought to break the mold for women, to show a woman choosing to shed what was conventional, and pursue her heart. I hope later to read up on the contextual history of that time and how it relates to her novel.

A quote I particularly liked: She thought of Leonce and the children. They were a part of her life. But they need not have thought that they could possess her, body and soul.

I love that quote because so often women are expected, even today, to give themselves completely, and often they are left broken and desolate as though they themselves are not true people. I know someone whose mother abandoned them much like this mother did, and that mother had a similar husband and similar circumstances in this day and age... her story is fictional but what she says in some ways still rings true for some people in some societies, today.

Tomorrow They Will Kiss- Santiago (Book #1)

Never judge a book by its cover. It's a saying but how often I judge books just like that, and by judging this book by its cover I nearly passed up on a delicious and wonderfully written book.

This is a novel about a woman named Graciela told from three perspectives: Graciela's, Caridad and Impresiaro. C and I are from the village of her childhood in a small poor town in Cuba. The story trails their lives from before the revolution and then what happens afterwards up into when they arrive in the United States and the struggles they face when here.

This story is beautifully written. There are so many layers and so much to learn from it. On one hand, its a story of the loneliness of immigration. Sure people choose to come here but it can be an isolating feeling to leave what you know for what is wholly unfamiliar. I grew up in Miami where there were many many Cubans and there was a resentment at times by those of us who did not speak Spanish at how some Cubans seemed to refuse to learn English, this book talks about that and how some of these women refused to learn because they felt they were going back soon, they feared that learning meant admitting they were staying. The story is also about three women who went through hell and back, and how gossip can hold you back and how instead working to improve yourself and hoping against hope can make dreams come true. At its heart this is also a novel about redemption.

I love stories that teach me about life elsewhere, that help open my horizons and help me remember how similar we all are at the core of it. I recommend it to all.

Dreams From My Father- Barack Obama

Politics aside, this book is beautifully written and touches you to the core, particularly if you are a minority. This is a memoir by Obama written over 10 years ago when publishers wanted to hear what his story was after he became the first black editor of the Harvard Law Review.

I listened to the book on CD so it was narrated by Obama, so to hear him tell his story is an experience unlike any other because what he is saying hits doubly hard to hear him say it himself. His insight into life really is point on, and its the sort of book you want to go back to read again and again, filling it with notes and highlights in the margin.

Sold- McCormick

What a beautiful incredible read! This is a story about Lakshmi, a 13 year old girl sold into prostitution by her family. Patricia McCormick, when I saw the name I scoffed at yet another non-desi trying to capture the desi experience... but she did it so well. Her writing is more prose than novel each word flowing effortlessly into the next and her chapters capturing moments though brief expressed perfectly. The story shows how hope so carefully cherished can vanish to complete desolation.... And the fact that this happens in the here and now is all the more chilling for the reader. I've been waiting for a good depiction of the issues of prostitution in the desi world. I read a few others "Dancing Girls of Lahore" and watched "Born into Brothels" but neither captured the actual nature of the horror. Each sort of side stepped it in my opinion. This one tackled the issue head on putting you into the head of a girl living a life like this. And Patricia researched her story by traveling to India and Nepal and speaking to people who have lived the life of Lakshmi or currently are living that life.

In Defense of Food- Michael Pollan

I read Omnivore's Dilemma and it was nothing short of a life changing experience. I kid you not. So I had to read his new book "In Defense of Food" and it was brilliant as well. In Defense takes off from where OD left off. OD discusses where our food comes from and opens our eyes to the harsh realities of processing and industrial foods. In Defense tells us what to do with that the knowledge that most of what is available for us to consume is not necessarily good for us to consume.

These two books have truly opened my eyes and given me a lightbulb moment more than any other dieting, health book ever has. I feel like a different person seeing the world with new eyes. Though I checked this book out from the library, this is the first book that I plan to actually purchase. Its a book I want as a constant reference and reminder.

The Omnivore's Dilemma- Michael Pollan

I will write more about this book on my main blog (www.aishaiqbal.blogspot.com) but suffice it to say this book is a life changing examination on where our food comes from. If you read this book you will have to confront some ugly truths about the nature of indusrialized food and you may also feel dismay that organic foods, many of them, are not always necessarily better. Still, though it will open your eyes to ugly truths it is an important book to read nevertheless. Devour immediately!

Something Blue

Though I was not a big fan of Something Borrowed for several reasons such as the cavalier attitude Rachel seemed to possess towards cheating with her best friend's fiancee, I really liked Something Blue though I hadn't expected to like it since Darcy from the earlier book was absolutely obnoxious and self centered. But Giffin pulled it off, though this book is chick-lit and I will not say its much more than that, this book was cute and fun and a bit more introspective than her other two books.

Man Walks Into a Room- Krauss

There is a consistent theme in the two books I have read by Krauss. The themes of love and loneliness. This book is beautifully written, it seems to flow from word to word and you almost forget that you are reading because you feel as though you are there.

This is a story about a man who disappears from Columbia University where he was a professor and is found eight days later with no idea who he is. It turns out there is a tumor in his brain. Once the tumor is removed 24 years of his life is evaporated. He remembers his mother but does not recall that she died. He remembers his Uncle Max, but not his wife, Anna who grieves. She has lost him, and yet not. She loves him, whoever he now is... but to him she is a person who looks at him with guilt for not remembering things he has no power to recall.

Its a more character introspective novel than a plot driven novel. You really consider concepts such as love and loneliness, etc. I find it interesting the theme of his love for his wife through the book. As though, yes he forgot most everything in the past 24 years and he forgot all the details about his wife yet he can't stop the nagging feeling that he cares for this woman though he is not 100% sure why.

I recommend this book to anyone for a lesson on good writing and a plot that makes you think.

"And yet what else does it mean to be loved, Samson wondered, then to be understood? What else but to be profoundly touched by another?" - Krauss 'A man walks into a room'

Inheritance of Loss- Kiran Desai

This novel follows the life of its characters who reside in, or once resided in, Kalimpong at the foothills of the Himalayas. The central character is Sai, an orphaned young girl who shows up at the doorstep of her grandfather, a judge, to live with him and their cook. The story studies her life, the judge's, the cook's and his son who is an illegal immigrant working the restaurant circuit in NYC, and various other characters who live near them in the small village town. The novel is set around the time that the local Nepalese are seeking a seperate state in India and traces their village as it goes from idyllic and ideal to absolute unspeakable chaos and violence.

Though the book clearly showcases her wisdom and beautiful insights to life, there really is no clear solid plot in this novel. Its more a reflection of the characters and the lives they lived and who they were. And though it is a reflection of characters... Desai does not let us get too close to them. Her descriptions are lacking, the self reflection of their feelings is seldom... None of the characters are described to a degree where you can truly picture them, none really attain any degree of affection to the reader as they are presented distanced and disaffected.

Perhaps Desai wanted it that way, because her novel is really more than just about the people and the plot in and of itself but about the issues that the people of India have suffered with post-colonialism. She explains quite well the different ways that colonialism has affected the people of India by tracing different people in different social classes and age groups. I also loved the cook's son Biju's storyline and reading about what it was like to be an illegal immigrant in NYC struggling to make it through.

I feel that Inheritance is an important book for its highlighting of important issues, but for a book with good storytelling and plot or character development, I would not read this particular novel, but instead would easily recommend Zadie Smith or Khalid Hussein any day.

High Fidelity, Nick Hornsby

What I love about Nick Hornsby is that his books make me laugh out loud. They are escapist yet still meaningful and make you think. High Fidelity is his most famous book about a thirty something guy working at a "going nowhere" record store with "going nowhere" friends. The story picks up with when his girlfriend leaves him and he reflects on women in the past, women in the future, and where he is going with his life. It's thoughtful and hilarious and I enjoyed it down to the last drop. It had a great ending which some may not like, but the sort that makes my day.

On Beauty, Zadie Smith

What a perfectly delicious book! Scrumptious down to the last word. This is a story about two families with professors as their heads of household living in Boston in a college centered middle class community. The Kippses and Belseys are long time rivals due to their divergent views on Rembrant's work. But that really is just background static. The book is mostly about the dynamics of the Belsey family and how they interact with one another and with the Kippses. I love this book because the characters are so vivid and there were at least five times that I said out loud, "yes this is the feeling- exactly". She just has a knack about explaining what you feel though she wrote about something so completely different. What I really liked was that the characters were likeable and their lives though dreary at times still had that realistic under current of having highs and lows much like any other regular family. Some stories like this take themselves too seriously and you finish wanting to weep for days, their stories haunting you to peices. But this isn't like that. It deals with harsh issues but in a manner that you read, absorb, but move on from still loving most of them anyways. It's a great book. I recommend it.

Kite Runner, by Khalid Husseini

I hestitated buying this book. And then I stuck it in on the bookshelf and would try to avoid eye contact with it as I walked by. I knew I wanted to read it, but I knew it would be a tough and emotional read and I was afraid. I am so grateful that I ended up picking it up and reading it. It starts of slightly slow but it picks up its pace through the first half of the story. I loved his character descriptons. I could see Ali and his wife and young child. I could see the father of the potaganist so clearly that the images months later are still fresh in my mind. I think that made the book. I also appreciated the insight they provided to life in Afghanistan before the times of the troubles. It is good for the public to know that Afghanistan had modernity and colleges, etc. once upon a time. They are a victim of their geographic location, and their political problems. The people who suffer are the innocents. The book is an interesting perspective on the lives of the people of Afghanistan both living there, and the refugees as well.

There is a scene **warning spoiler to follow* where the protagnoist returns to Afghanistan after many years and as he eats at the home of a villager he sees the children staring fixed at what he thinks is his watch. He removes it and gives it to them as a gift. They seem polite about this gift yet uninterested. It is only later he learns that the host in an effort to be gracious fed them all the food they had for the entire family and the children were staring at the food from pangs of hunger and not at his watch. It was a powerful point in the book for me about perspective.

I loved this book and I consider it one of my favorite books of all time.

Muhammad, by: Karen Armstrong

This is a good book that explains the life of Prophet Muhammad and also traces the hatred and the prejudice over the years after the passing of the Prophet. She also traces fanaticism over religion through history as well. You can tell her book is an attempt to both portray a historical image of the Prophet and also to dispel popular misconceptions about him as well. Those who are Islamaphobic will think she is being too sympathetic or too kind about the Prophet. But to answer that you must read her book "The spiral staircase" Where she says to understand the religion of another you must learn it from their perspective which is not harsh and criticising. She does just that and provides a very balanced perspective. There are things in the book that hurt me, and Im not happy with but I I dont know if its inaccuracy or the truth of a time long ago that I simply can't grasp. (i.e. ghazu/raids of traveling caravans)

The book jumps around quite a bit but if you make it through to the end you will be glad you did.

the curious incident of the dog in the night-time, by: mark haddon

What a delightful book! This is a story told from the point of view of an autistic child. That is a very difficult feat to accomplish, and to accomplish well but Mark Haddon did just that. It's got great dialogue and the plot of the dead dog does not overpower the more important point of the story, the relationship of this child with the people in his life. The book is a delicious read that you are sorry to see end because it is such a joy. I also liked that the book had a resolution. There are a lot of books I read these days that are considered deep and all but they have no conclusions. This is not right. The reader deserves some sort of resolution and this book had a good one. It didnt wrap up the story in a bow, but it did provide some resolution and closure.

The book is a bit unconventional in its writing style. Almost written in a diary format from the child. So if you don't mind the different writing style and the perspective that you have to read a little bit into to understand, this is a great book and why I call it a 5/5. I simply can't find anything to put down.

The Spiral Staircase, by: Karen Armstrong

What an incredible breathtaking book. She writes honestly and eloquently on her life after leaving the convent. She talks about battling depression, an undiagnosed epilepsy that everyone maddeningly insisted was all in her head, working for a doctorate degree with disastorous results, and trying to find herself in a world that had changed drastically while she had remained in convent life. It's not necessarily what happens to her but how she writes it, how she reflects upon it, and how she learns from it.

At least for me she echoed many of the fears and pain that I myself have experienced in life. For example, there is a point where she attends a get together after leaving the convent and as she stands there in the lights and watches the dancing and drinking she says For a second, I felt a pang of envy, I would have loved to be able to do that, to be so wild uninhibited and free. These students were living fully and intensely in a way that I could not.. It must be a marvelous feeling. But it has never been possible. At a very impressionable age, my body was schooled in quite other rhythms, and it has for better or worse, taken the print. I had found to my considerable sorrow that even though I no longer belonged in the convent, I did not belong out here either. In her completely different experience I could find and relate to her feelings of being the odd one out, wanting desperately to fit in, and knowing it would never be possible.

She is a gifted historian and explains how she came to be a writer on religious history, but her prose and descriptive talents are also brilliant. I hope one day she writes fiction, I know she would write well.

A Long Way Down

This book is a snapshot in the lives of four VERY different strangers who found each other on a rooftop on New Years Eve preparing to commit suicide. One is a no name American rocker who went to deliver pizzas and took a detour to the roof. One is a mother of a mentally disabled child who has cared for him for 20 years and now can't take it anymore. The other an 18 year old girl with melodramatic issues who feels jilted and just can't bear to live, and finally Mark who just finished a prison sentence after having been a famous tv talk show host in England until he cheated on his wife with a fifteen year old who lied about his age.

They each go utterly convinced that it is their last night on earth but they all happened to choose the same place to top themselves. Finding each other on the roof top they get distracted, argue, and somehow find themselves off the roof though all of them consider this "coming down the ledge" as merely a temporary thing, infact, they agree to simply wait a little while and then meet again to see if they still want to go through with it.

The book follows them as crazy but perfectly believable series of events happen and we watch. It's told in the first person with each person getting a chapter a time to explain things from their perspectiv. I like that, it's pretty neat because there are times you will be reading through one character's eyes and completely loath another character. Then the next chapter is the character you despise, and the chapter helps you understand why they are they way they are a little bit better.

My only hesitation with the book is that I feel its trying TOO hard to be "non-cliche" and though I normally adore Nick Hornby's writing this book was a little too... vernacular? for me. For example there is a lot of "yeah you probably think this will be a happy ending but its not" and other sorts of dialogue. I feel nick hornby is trying so hard to not be be cheesy and trite such injections sound defensive and not contributing towards the feel of the book.

The Amateur Marriage- Anne Tyler

I finished this book four days ago but the characters and the story still haunts my unguarded thoughts. What an amazing writer. I have not read a book so well written in a very very long time. For me a good writer is one, that when you're reading, you dont even realize it. You are experiencing what she writes, seeing what she sees and most importantly feeling what she feels. This story did just that for me. The story follows Michael and Pauline who meet by happenstance, have a hurried wartime wedding and proceed to spend thirty years loving one another, raising a family, and arguing. Arguing a whole lot. Ordinarily I do not like such stories of a family as it goes through life but like I said the writing is what sets this book apart. Here are just a few thoughts I had one some of the characters in the book...



***warning: Spoilers***

1. Why did Lindy get to come back and no one confronted her?! I was so furious with her when she came back again and I just didn't understand why even George who felt frustration said nothing. She knew where PAGAN WAS and didn't come for him! How did she account for that? She was sobered up for a while!

2. The love that Michael felt for Lindy choked me up because it was so real. How we want to love our children and think theyr'e special and will desperately hold on to our hopes tha tthey are more good than bad. Even when Pagan was found dirty, filthy and abandoned he tried to find signs that he was cared for.

3. I liked how they didnt even talk about changing his name. I think I might have done that if my kid's name was PAGAN but they didn't do that from him as he had very little identity as it was when they found him. Showed their humanity.

4. I was very sad for Paulline that she was all alone at the end. Actually thi sbook really really gave me a new perspective on aging and growing old. I see older people differently now and it makes me afraid of growing older. She was so alone in the end. Unable to even fix her water heater and stifled in so many other ways.

5. The way Lindy turned out gave me fear. How can you guaruntee that your children will end up being good and stable people when they grow up. how much control do you have? I do think they argued so much and were, as Karen said "such a couple" perhaps they didn't make child rasiing as active a priroity as they should have?